Tetrisphere
A Tetris variant played on a wrapped three-dimensional grid.
Tetrisphere, a puzzle game for the Nintendo 64, was made by H2O Entertainment and published by Nintendo. It launched in North America on August 11, 1997, and in PAL regions the following February. Originally called Phear and meant for the Atari Jaguar, it became a Tetris-style game after Nintendo secured the publishing rights.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- H2O Entertainment
- Publisher
- Nintendo
- Producer
- Michael Tam
- Designer
- Steve Shatford
- Programmer
- Christopher Bailey
- Artist
- Christopher Bretz, Roland Longpre
- Composer
- Neil Voss
- Series
- Tetris
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
In Tetrisphere, bricks are removed when three pieces of the same type touch after a drop. A drop occurs when a brick falls, either from the player releasing it or when the supporting brick below is removed. When three matching bricks touch, they glow and implode, triggering a combo that removes all identical shapes in contact through chain reactions. Pieces must follow specific touching rules: stacked matching pieces must be exactly on top of each other; laterally, O and I pieces require full side contact, while other shapes need only partial contact. Players can slide a piece by aligning its shadow with a same-shaped piece on the sphere; sliding can pass through and destroy crystal pieces but not other pieces. After a combo, random pieces on the sphere glow as power pieces, with the number proportional to combo size.
Development
H2O Entertainment, based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, was founded by Steve Shatford, Christopher Bailey, and Michael Tam. The project began as an Atari Jaguar game called Phear, shown at the 1995 Winter CES, requiring players to create a hole of a specific size at the sphere's core. Nintendo acquired the rights after seeing Phear at WCES '95 and announced it as a Nintendo 64 title at Nintendo Space World that year. H2O, having completed a reverse takeover with Canadian Entech Resources Inc., worked exclusively for Nintendo. Nintendo announced an October 1996 release, which boosted H2O's stock but surprised the partners. The delay that followed hurt the company's credibility with investors. Nintendo later assigned six employees to assist development. The game was built on Silicon Graphics Indy, Indigo, and O2 workstations using SoftImage for graphics, written in C, and compiled for Ultra64 development boxes. The engine was enhanced to show only part of the sphere at once, improving framerate and enabling a two-player mode.
Reception
Tetrisphere received generally favorable reviews on GameRankings based on nine reviews. Critics praised its innovative design, engaging modes, and soundtrack, which lets players select tracks. Jer Horwitz of GameSpot called it the kind of game the Nintendo 64 needed, with revolutionary gameplay and visual effects beyond what the PlayStation could handle. Graphics were well received; Horwitz noted improvements over the Jaguar version. Next Generation and GamePro found the gameplay complex and challenging to learn but rewarding, with GamePro stating it required a new mental discipline. GameSpot and Electronic Gaming Monthly reviewers argued the game was enjoyable even without full strategic understanding, though Dan Hsu asserted mastering it was impossible due to the 3D view. IGN's Doug Perry warned puzzler fanatics of permanent addiction. Tetrisphere ranked 27th in sales among 42 Nintendo games in 1997. Nintendo Power placed it 50th on its list of 100 Best Nintendo Games of All Time and awarded it Best Soundtrack. IGN ranked its soundtrack fourth best of any N64 game.
More in Tetrominoes & Pieces
Elsewhere in Tetris
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced